Stephen K. Bannon, President Trump’s former chief strategist, could be called to testify during the criminal trial of Roger Stone, a defense lawyer reportedly signaled Wednesday.
Bruce Rogow, an attorney representing Mr. Stone, mentioned Mr. Bannon during a pretrial hearing while naming potential witnesses who might be asked to take the stand, Politico reported.
Mr. Rogow did not indicate why Mr. Bannon might be called, the report said
Mr. Stone, Mr. Trump’s longtime confidant and former campaign adviser, was indicted as a result of the special counsel’s investigation into the 2016 U.S. presidential election and related matters. He has been charged with counts of obstruction, perjury and witness tampering, and his trial is currently slated to start this fall in D.C. federal court.
Prosecutors allege that Mr. Stone, 67, lied to members of Congress about conversations he had during the 2016 presidential race about WikiLeaks, the website that published stolen Democratic Party documents leading up to Election Day.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Mr. Bannon, 65, served as chairman of Mr. Trump’s election campaign and later as a presidential adviser. He left the administration after less than seven months in August 2017.
Prosecutors said in a court filing earlier this week that they planned to introduce as evidence during trial a chart showing “written communications between Stone and Trump campaign officials in 2016.” Defense lawyers have asked that it be excluded, raising objections due to relevance, best evidence, prejudice and completeness.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, was set to rule on outstanding motions relevant to the case as soon as later Wednesday, Law and Crime reported.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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